Sugar gliders are an animal that has become a very trendy pet in the past few years. This is due to a series of videos that have made them more popular than ever. As a result, a whole lot of people are rushing out to get their very own sugar glider. And as they settle down with their new pet, they’re learning something.
Sugar gliders sure do like to pee and poop. And they really do seem to do so at the drop of a hat. In fact, they do so with such regularity that some owners are calling them the most pee- and poo-prone animal of all time. But is this really the case? Are sugar gliders the most accident happy pet of all time?
The simple truth is no. Of course, like every untrained animal, a sugar glider will pee and poo wherever they decide to. They are still wild, after all. The trick is to learn how to domesticate them into a normal potty routine that an owner can be happy with. Once you have done this, you will have the issue under control.
Where Do Sugar Gliders Go To The Bathroom?
An untrained sugar glider will go to the bathroom in the same place as any other untrained animal. That is to say, they will go wherever the mood strikes them. If you keep them in your bedroom or living room, they will certainly leave evidence of their presence behind. They are animals and animals do tend to get a bit messy.
Will this always be the case? The answer is no. You can’t exactly train a sugar glider to use a litter box like you can with a cat. But you should know that their habits are very predictable. Once you know what to look for, you can predict when and where they are about to do their business. This gives you an edge that you can exploit.
The fact of the matter is that, once you know their habits, you can let a sugar glider hang out in your shirt pocket all day. You just need to know when they usually need to do their business. You can condition their behavior to favor a certain spot and a particular time of day. Once you do so, the number of “accidents” will fall sharply.
Why Does My Sugar Glider Pee On Me?
Your sugar glider pees on you for a simple reason. You are by far the tallest object in their world. It has to be remembered that, in the wild, a sugar glider calls a tall tree home. This is their territory and their safe refuge. Now that they are with you in a totally different environment, they tend to think of you as their big tall tree.
And what do they do in their home? They tend to pee and poop there. This is because it’s the safest place for them to do so. So, yes, if you have not learned yet how to condition your sugar glider’s bathroom activities, you are going to get peed on. It’s up to you to take the necessary steps to put a safe limit to this natural behavior.
Do Sugar Gliders Poop A Lot?
It isn’t so much that they poop more than any other animal. It’s just that they tend to do so anywhere and any time that they feel the urge. But this can be taken care of with just a little bit of training. Sugar gliders really are clean animals by nature. Once you know how to train them, you won’t have a huge problem with peeing or pooing.
Do Sugar Gliders Eat Their Own Poop?
One of the less agreeable aspects of keeping a semi-domesticated pet like a sugar glider is the fact that they may sometimes be prone to some disagreeable behaviors. For example, without proper supervision or training, a sugar glider may sometimes eat their own poop. This is because some animals prefer to “recycle” their food.
However, this doesn’t apply to all sugar gliders in every situation. You can cut down on this phenomenon by learning how to curb it. The best way for you to do so is to make sure that you are feeding them the exact right type of food at the right time. A bit of research will go a long way toward putting a stop to this gross behavior.
How To Potty Train Your Sugar Glider
There are plenty of informative videos that will give you the lowdown on how to potty train your sugar glider. You can also take advantage of this quick step by step guide.
Step 1: Pick Up Your Sugar Glider and Stimulate the Movement
Step one of the potty training process should begin on the first day that you get your new baby sugar glider. Get some newspaper and baby wipes. The newspaper will be useful for catching the mess as it falls. The baby wipes will be used to stimulate a bowel movement and then clean up your baby sugar glider’s behind after the movement.
Pick up the baby and hold it in one hand. Make sure you are holding it over the paper. Take the baby wipe and gently wipe your sugar glider’s rear end. This should stimulate it to make a bowel movement. Once it has done so, you can use the wipe to clean it up. It may take a few motions with the wipe to get them going but no more than a minute.
Step 2: Move Them From Hand to Hand
The sugar glider will want to move from one hand to your other one as they continue to go. This is natural behavior so let it occur. Just make sure that your hands are both open so that they will stay safe. Also make sure they are continuing to pee and poo safely over the paper in order to avoid a mess.
Step 3: Repeat the Wipe
The final step of the process is to let them come back to your original hand. Repeat the wiping process until they have completely finished their bowel movement. This may take about a minute or so. This is a process that you should repeat every day until it becomes routine. At this point, your sugar glider will be reasonably potty trained.